PREVIEW: Britt tells team to forget Tigers' 1-4 record

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on September 30, 2016 10:13 AM

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WARSAW -- Numbers mean nothing.

Especially when your opponent, a traditional football juggernaut, is 1-4 after an injury-riddled start to the season.

That just makes James Kenan that more dangerous.

"What we've been preaching to our kids this week is that they're the James Kenan (team) that they've always been -- well-coached, hard-nosed," Rosewood head coach Robert Britt said. "We cannot let their record fool us. They're still one of the better teams we'll face this year."

And one that's finally getting healthy.

Kenan enters the game minus its three-year starter, quarterback Ken Avent III, who continues to recover from a broken collarbone suffered during the Tigers' season-opening game more than two months ago.

Utility player Jabril Johnson has stepped in admirably.

The 5-foot-11, 215-pound junior accounted for 186 yards of total offense and two touchdowns in a 30-22 loss to Princeton last week. His main target was Jalen Faison, who nabbed three passes that covered 105 yards -- including a 30-yard touchdown strike in the third quarter.

"He's been playing other positions, but we've had him (at quarterback) now (and) we're just trying to figure out where we're at," JK head coach Ken Avent Jr. said. ""We've had a pretty good week (of practice) this week ... really going back to the basics and trying to get everything back together. It's been a little difficult. We hope we put it together tonight."

Kenan hasn't started conference play 0-2 since 2010 when it competed in the old Tri-County 1-A Conference.

Rosewood (3-3 overall, 1-0 CC) upset the then-No. 1 ranked Tigers on a game-winning field goal as time expired last season. The Eagles seek their second straight 2-0 start in league play, but face a defense that's been tested against two perennial powerhouses -- two-time defending state champ Wallace-Rose Hill and East Duplin.

The Tigers allow 36 points a game.

"They're still very aggressive," Britt said. "They're going to pin their ears back and attack every gap up front, push things wide and let their athletes run you down. We've got some schemes that we can use to be able to run right at them, and take advantage of their size."

And Avent Jr.'s team will keep a close eye on No. 8 -- RHS quarterback Cameron Helt. The senior has accumulated 1,153 yards and 18 touchdowns on 155 total offensive plays.

"We've seen him for three years now and he does a good job, so we're going to have to find a way to slow him down some," Avent Jr. said. "We're going to have to do a little bit job of slowing down the run ... not necessarily shut them down. We have to control the ball instead of giving it right back (on turnovers) like we did last week (against Princeton)."

Kenan leads the all-time series 6-2.